SRI College Preview: Science Predicts Alabama Over Oklahoma
August 10, 2011 – 9:50 am by Paul BessireSportsRadioInterviews.com has teamed with PredictionMachine.com to preview the upcoming college football season. PredictionMachine.com plays every game 50,000 times before it’s played. In this case, the site has played the entire season 50,000 times for this preview, presenting the projected results for every conference championship and bowl game. Learn more about How this Works.
SEASON SUMMARY
Alabama wins its second championship in the last three seasons – and the SEC’s sixth straight BCS title – by topping Oklahoma in the BCS Championship 56.5% of the time and by a score of 27.6 – 23.1. Despite losing ultra-efficient quarterback Greg McElroy and receiving threat Julio Jones, Alabama is stacked. The Crimson Tide appears to have the best offensive line, running back and defense in the nation. Generally, the most likely team in the country to go undefeated is a non-BCS-AQ school (like TCU, Boise State, Houston, etc.). This year, that distinction goes to the SEC’s best.
In other BCS Bowls, the inaugural Big Ten Championship game winner, Wisconsin falls to new Pac-12 champion Oregon in a Rose Bowl shootout 41-31. Boise State, led by Kellen Moore, carries the flag of the BCS non-AQ schools into the Sugar Bowl where the Broncos take out SEC runner-up South Carolina 27-25. ACC winner Florida State shuts down Big East champion West Virginia 23-14 in the Orange Bowl. And Big 12 runner-up Texas A&M spoils Brian Kelly and Notre Dame’s return to a BCS game with a 31-26 victory. Perennial BCS Bowl contender LSU and offensive power house Oklahoma State may not make BCS Bowls despite being top ten teams (two teams from the SEC and Big 12 are already in), but the Tigers and Cowboys turn the Cotton Bowl into the next best match-up, one that LSU wins 37-30. Stumbling from last year’s ranks, defending champion Auburn faces Houston in the Liberty Bowl, while TCU makes the Las Vegas Bowl against Cal. And finally, in an interesting rematch from last season’s Sugar Bowl, Ohio State and Arkansas lose their starting quarterbacks, yet improve over the season to ultimately meet up in the Outback Bowl.
Team recaps, Power Rankings and Preseason Over/Under Win Total Picks are also available at PredictionMachine.com. Here are projected conference championship and bowl results for every game:
BOWL SUMMARY
Conference Championship Results
| Date | Conference | Matchup Result |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 2 | MAC | #77 Northern Illinois 29 – #82 Temple 26 |
| Dec. 3 | SEC | #1 Alabama 24 – #7 South Carolina 14 |
| Dec. 3 | Big Ten | #12 Wisconsin 23 – #16 Nebraska 21 |
| Dec. 3 | ACC | #8 Florida State 23 – #19 Virginia Tech 20 |
| Dec. 3 | Pac-12 | #3 Oregon 35 – #17 Arizona State 21 |
| Dec. 3 | C-USA | #46 Houston 40 – #52 Southern Miss 37 |
| Date | BCS Bowl | Matchup Result |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 17 | New Orleans | #50 Tulsa 40 – #84 FIU 26 |
| Dec. 17 | Humanitarian | #59 Nevada 27 – #70 Toledo 23 |
| Dec. 17 | Gildan New Mexico | #83 Utah State 29 – #87 Colorado State 27 |
| Dec. 20 | St. Petersburg | #52 Southern Miss 23 – #64 Connecticut 18 |
| Dec. 21 | Poinsettia | #35 San Diego State 36 – #91 Central Michigan 17 |
| Dec. 22 | Maaco Las Vegas | #21 TCU 23 – #44 Cal 16 |
| Dec. 24 | Sheraton Hawaii | #63 Hawaii 37 – #98 Tulane 23 |
| Dec. 26 | Independence | #34 Air Force 28 – #53 Maryland 20 |
| Dec. 27 | Belk | #42 Cincinnati 21 – #51 NC State 19 |
| Dec. 27 | Little Caesars | #49 Iowa 31 – #77 Northern Illinois 24 |
| Dec. 28 | Bridgepoint Holiday | #17 Arizona State 41 – #38 Baylor 33 |
| Dec. 28 | Military | #62 Virginia 28 – #75 Navy 27 |
| Dec. 29 | Valero Alamo | #9 Stanford 34 – #26 Texas 21 |
| Dec. 29 | Champs Sports | #15 Miami (FL) 27 – #32 Pitt 21 |
| Dec. 30 | Insight | #30 Northwestern 30 – #33 Missouri 29 |
| Dec. 30 | Music City | #47 Tennessee 17 – #39 Boston College 16 |
| Dec. 30 | New Era Pinstripe | #54 South Florida 19 – #57 Purdue 17 |
| Dec. 30 | Armed Forces | #31 SMU 31 – #24 BYU 30 |
| Dec. 31 | Chick-fil-A | #19 Virginia Tech 30 – #29 Georgia 20 |
| Dec. 31 | Kraft Fight Hunger | #37 Florida 23 – #41 Arizona 21 |
| Dec. 31 | AutoZone Liberty | #27 Auburn 41 – #46 Houston 37 |
| Dec. 31 | Hyundai Sun | #40 Utah 22 – #36 Clemson 21 |
| Dec. 31 | Meineke Car Care | #28 Michigan State 33 – #43 Oregon State 27 |
| Jan. 2 | Gator | #25 Michigan 31 – #45 Kentucky 26 |
| Jan. 2 | Capital One | #14 Mississippi State 25 – #16 Nebraska 23 |
| Jan. 2 | Outback | #13 Arkansas 28 – #18 Ohio State 24 |
| Jan. 2 | TicketCity | #23 Penn State 27 – #55 UCF 17 |
| Jan. 6 | ATT&T Cotton | #5 LSU 37 – #10 Oklahoma State 30 |
| Jan. 7 | BBVA Compass | #67 Syracuse 21 – #73 Miami (OH) 20 |
| Jan. 8 | GoDaddy.com | #82 Temple 29 – #100 Arkansas State 24 |
| Date | BCS Bowl | Matchup Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 2 | Rose | #3 Oregon 41 – #12 Wisconsin 31 |
| Jan. 3 | Orange | #8 Florida State 23 – #20 West Virginia 14 |
| Jan. 3 | Sugar | #4 Boise State 27 – #7 South Carolina 25 |
| Jan. 5 | Fiesta | #6 Texas A&M 31 – #11 Notre Dame 26 |
| Jan. 9 | BCS Championship | #1 Alabama 28 – #2 Oklahoma 23 |
Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, BCS Bowls, Boise State Broncos, College Football Preview, Florida State Seminoles, LSU Tigers, Nick Saban, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks, Wisconsin Badgers
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